


Forever Yours

by MickUwU



Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: F/F, Growing Up, Letters, Love Letters, M/M, Not Beta Read, One Shot, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22517395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MickUwU/pseuds/MickUwU
Summary: Snufkin had been late before, but this one lasted for years.
Relationships: Lilla My | Little My/Snorkfröken | The Snork Maiden, Muminmamman | Moominmamma/Muminpappan | Moominpappa, Mumintrollet | Moomintroll/Snusmumriken | Snufkin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 79





	Forever Yours

**Author's Note:**

> Seriously, someone dies. You'll figure it out immediately, probably. It was very sad trying to write this...

Waiting was what a Moomintroll did best.

Moomintroll, of Moominvalley, waited every year for his friend to come home.

Snufkin, the friend and renowned vagabond, came back every year with the sweetest tune, just for Moomintroll. He considered the valley home. They were very happy with their arrangement, no matter how sad Moomin got.

Sometimes, though, Snufkin was late. Moomin knew this was the case and didn’t worry much. “He’s just a little caught up in his travels, Mamma. I’m not heartbroken,” he said, to ease his mother’s concerns. Snufkin always came back.

“I just don’t want you to be upset, that’s all, dear,” Moominmamma said, frosting a cake. The cake wasn’t special at all. It was just a cake.

“I know, I know, Mamma, but I’m a grown Moomin. I’m not so dramatic anymore.”

Mamma laughed and gave him a bright smile. “Just make sure you’ve done your chores.”

“Ah, right, yes, Mamma.”

Moomin’s chores, like most things in his life, were very easy. Water the flowers and clean his room. Ooh! When Snufkin comes back, I can rearrange my room and give him a surprise! Won’t that be fun?

He did his chores reluctantly. They were easy but they were frustrating. He moved his bed 90 degrees and pushed it against the wall. Maybe some paintings? Oh, he’ll love it! His room didn’t change much, he just moved things around a little.

“Moomee! Come down for cake, it’s ready!”

-

Snufkin had never been that late. Moomin supposed that there was a first for everything, but a month was a while.

“Mamma?”

“Yes, Moominchild?”

“What if Snufkin’s found a better valley to spend his time in?”

“Snufkin’s not the type to put material things--like places or items--before his love for his friends and memories.”

Moomin nodded and left her to knit. The yarn was green.

-

“Moomin?” Little My called into his room. She was taller than when they met. It had been a while. Mymbles just take time to grow.

“What do you want?” he curtly asked. He was in a sour mood. He hadn’t slept well because he was worried.

“Do you want to play with us? Sniff got some jars from Mr. Hemulen because he found some pretty flowers and we want to catch fireflies.”

“No.” He didn’t at all. Everyone was stepping on his nerves. Especially Snorkmaiden. She was just overbearing then.

“Just because Snufkin isn’t back doesn’t mean you get to ignore your friends!”

“He isn’t back yet, Little My! Ugh! Just leave me alone!” He slammed his door shut.

“Don’t we matter, too?!” Little My screamed from the hallway.

Of course, they did.

-

Moomin wandered into the kitchen. The pans were being cleaned and both of his parents were working hard for a clean place to cook.

“It’s almost fall, Mamma,” Moominpappa says, neither of them realizing he was there. He ducked behind the door frame.

“I know.”

“What happens if… he never comes back? How do we help our son?”

“I’m not sure, Pappa… we might be able to do nothing.”

-

“Moomintroll! Get out here!” Sniff all but yelled in Moomin’s face.

“What? Sniff, what’s wrong?”

“We’re going to play, you have to join us.”

Moomin just wanted to wallow away in his room. The valley wasn’t the same without Snufkin. Neither were his friends. “Fine, what are we doing?”

“Jump rope!”

Sure enough, they were. Little My was actually doing well but Snorkmaiden was having trouble. She just had stubby legs and a long body, not built for jumping. Sniff ran out to Little My. She was only to his chin. She grew a lot.

-

Moominmamma hugged him only the way a mother could. Warm and inviting. He let his emotions spill.

Every doubt, every worry. The only thing he didn’t dare mention to her was his fear that Snufkin was ignoring them. She would just tell him that’s impossible, but he was starting to not believe it. Why else was he not in the valley? He couldn’t fathom.

Hibernation was upon them. Maybe Snufkin would come back when he woke up.

-

For the first time since he was young, Moomintroll slept through the entire winter. He woke up in spring to no music, no greetings. Sometimes springs were like that, but this was different. A somber cloud hung over Moominvalley. 

“He’s not here,” Little My greets him. She was in his room. He did not know why.

“Figured that one out, My. You don’t think that’s what I would've noticed immediately? You don’t think I think about him all the time?!”

“Geez, I’m sorry. Mamma made pancakes, but it’s lunch, so she’s making something else. Join us when you’re in a better mood.”

Why was she so insufferable? Moomintroll picked himself out of bed. His fur was fluffier. Winter coat hadn’t gone, probably. He readied himself and stumbled down the stairs. Great start, Moomin.

-

Moomin, for weeks, had woken up, ate breakfast, and sat outside, waiting for Snufkin to come back, but then, when Snufkin inevitably was still absent, went back inside, ate leftovers from dinner (which he skipped every day), and went to bed. It was frustrating and unsatisfying. Why wasn’t Snufkin there yet? His new friends must be so wonderful…

-

One summer afternoon, when it had been a while since Moomin even left his house, Snorkmaiden decided to visit.

She walked up to his room and brought him some shells she had found when she and Little My were at the beach. “She’s grown up.”

Moomin smiled and asked, “But is she?”

“Oh, not at all!”

They shared a hearty laugh and Moomin felt better. Maybe if he involved himself in something not-so-Snufkin related, he’d feel better. “Next time you guys have an adventure, can I come? I promise not to be a jerk to you guys.”

“Well, if you promise…”

They laughed again. What a good friend, Snorkmaiden.

-

“Little My, could you grab the rose teacups?” Moominmamma asked Little My.

“The ones with roses or the rose-colored ones?” Little My responded.

“With roses, dear.”

“Of course.” Little My, believe it or not, was taller than Mamma. It was mymble’s way to grow, Moomin supposed. He was a little taller than Mamma, which meant she would be taller than him in a matter of months, maybe weeks! If only Snufkin could see her. He hadn’t seen her in over two years, Moomin thought.

“Snorkmaiden, would you like to go to the beach with me after lunchtime?”

“Ooh, could I go, too?” Moomin asked, desperate to get out of the house.

Snorkmaiden and Little My shared a look before Little My snickered. “No, Moomintroll,” Snorkmaiden told him.

“Fine, then,” Moomin faked being upset. “I’ll go see if we have any mail.”

They did not have any, Moomin found. Then what? What was he supposed to do? Sniff left with his birth family, so he couldn’t bother him... Should he have explored? He wanted to but didn’t. There was much too much to help with.

-

As many nights passed, a certain Moomintroll very much didn’t feel well. He wasn’t sick, rather he was heartbroken. Those nights, spent in tears, were over the course of two years. He didn’t move on, but he grew up.

A night in his growing up years had a conversation that Moomin felt was long overdue.

“Why are we here?” asked Snorkmaiden. She was next to Little My (who was joking called Lofty My at that point) with the rest of the extended Moomin family surrounding them. Moomintroll just stared out the window in response, not wanting to be there. It was important, though. He called that meeting and they deserve an explanation. Snorkmaiden continued, “Is it because of… him?”

Moomintroll nodded and felt tears sting his eyes like a strong wind had found its way to him. He could do it, he told himself. Just talk to them… “Snufkin was my best friend. He was, uh, more than that, really.” He couldn’t look at any of them. He felt ashamed for keeping it a secret. “I loved him, obviously. Less obviously, at least to me, he loved me, too. We spent so long together, out and about, exploring and having fun. It was the best time of my life. But when you have the best time of your life, it’s hard to let go. I don’t think he’s coming back. Whether that being he found better friends or whatever could lead a Snufkin to disappear, he’s gone. And I can’t mourn by myself. I need help.”

“Can I share?” Mamma asked.

Moomin didn’t understand why she felt she couldn’t speak, so he invited her to.

“Snufkin was a wonderful son. He wasn’t mine, but I’d be proud to have called him that. He made you so happy, and he made the rest of us happy, as well. We didn’t quite get along with him as you had, but he was an important part of our lives. We’ll get through this, together.”

“Thank you, Mamma. Together, I suppose, is the way to go about caring.”

-

A very good time in a Moomintroll’s life is when they become independent from their parents. Our Moomintroll thought so too, until his home he built stopped feeling like a home. He had no one to share it with.

It was a wonderful orangish-red color with white frames for its doors. The sky and greenery in the part of the forest he built it made it pop. The inside was dark and warm and it was everything he could want objectively. He didn’t want it.

Moomin didn’t like the loneliness the house brought. It was just a reminder of how he and Snufkin couldn’t live like they’d planned when they were young.

He decided a quick trip to Moominhouse would fix his problem. He ended up staying there longer than he planned.

Lofty My (who then introduced herself as such) interrogated him about it. “Why are you back all of the sudden?”

He considered lying to her about being homesick. That wasn’t the case, he would’ve been as equally fine if everyone just stayed at his house. “An empty house made me lonely.”

“Then Snorkmaiden and I will visit you frequently! And get you, like, a hobby.”

Snorkmaiden and My had established their relationship as romantic a few evenings after Moomin’s house was finalized. They were very excited.

“Hobbies are for hemulens.”

“No, Moomintroll, hobbies are for well-adjusted creatures,” Moominmamma added from the kitchen.

My gave him a look of triumph. “What do you like to do for fun anymore?”

They had a long conversation that had a lot of existential crises in it and ended with Lofty My declaring that he should do woodwork, like carving. “You could make new frames for Mamma for her pictures and even instruments. Lad, it’s perfect. Just try it out. Snorkmaiden and I will visit in two days, or maybe tomorrow. Now, do you want a walk home or will you stay here in your childish state of mind that this home keeps you in?”

-

Sniff screamed, “Oh, my! This is gorgeous!”

The item in question was a tiny wood sculpture of some vagabond, no bigger than one’s paw, who Moomin refused to acknowledge was Snufkin. He knew it was. He just couldn’t admit that he was still in pain.

“It looks just like Snufkin! What are the flowers are on his hat?” Oh, there it was.

“Carnations.”

“Awe, that’s sweet. I guess you miss him that much…” Sniff, strangely, was not ill hearted when he said such direct things like that. Carnations were the flowers of longing.

-

“Neaux, what are you doing with that knife?” Moomintroll asked a very small Mymble, one of Mymble’s birth children. Neaux was around 4 and was born shortly before the spring that Snufkin didn’t come back. Moomintroll did not hold that against the Mymble. The rest of the Mymble’s children were with the Mymble wherever she may have been, but this one was in Snorkmaiden’s home, for he was the adopted child of Snorkmaiden and Lofty My. It was horrifying that My had a child.

“Carvin’ like you, Unlol Mmm!” the child chirped. Unlol Mmm was just Moomin’s name in Neaux’s mind. It derived from “Uncle Moomin”, but he was too young to pronounce it properly. It didn’t bother Moomin.

“Oh, but that’s a kitchen knife, not good for carving, little one. Plus, I don’t think you’ve got the motor skills yet to be safe with it. Might as well find something else to do, huh?”

“Okay!” The boy was stupid but Moomin was glad he was.

“Moomin, could you do me a solid?” asked Snorkmaiden (now Snorkmamma). Moomintroll thought her choice of words was strange.

“Sure, as long as I can help.”

“We need some herbs near the Witch’s house but My isn’t here to do it. Could you fetch them for me?”

“Can you provide a list?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll do it!”

-

Walking through the forest was an activity that Moomintroll avoided if he could. He felt very at peace when Snorkmamma asked him to get the plants so he decided it was perfect. The air was crisp and the leaves on the ground crunched delightfully when he took a step.

He whistled a jolly tune to himself as he walked nearer the forest of the Witches. The forest was a damp, dark, dull place. Alicia’s house, dubbed the Witch’s, was in the center of the woodland, so Moomin didn’t have a difficult journey ahead of him.

When he reached the hut, he knocked gingerly. He felt amazing! It was exciting to be important!

Alicia greeted him. “Hello, Moomintroll! What can I do for you?”

“I need these herbs for Snorkmamma if you can help.”

“Oh, yes! I haven’t been there in such a while, but I know where to go. Let’s begin, no? It’s easy to find them in daylight.”

They strolled to a dense part of the forest and Alicia tensed. “Something’s off,” she whispered.

“No matter, Alicia. It will be fine, let’s just get the stuff and hurry back, okay?”

“Sure,” she mumbled and glanced all around them.

They searched separately and for what seemed like forever when Moomintroll found a rusted harmonica. Oh, poor soul! Someone must have lost it and didn’t know where to look. He scraped the mouth-organ a bit before he took another step forward and felt something break underneath him. “Huh?” he audibly wondered. Premonition tickled his skin and screamed at him to leave. He couldn’t, what if he broke something important? He kicked some leaves away and sound something white, but yellowed. Ivory? No, that would be strange.

“Moomintroll? Have you found anything?” Alicia asked, making her way over to him.

He brushed some more leaves away and found that he broke a skeleton’s arm. The skeleton looked to be of a teenager, the arm frail and short. His gut turned unpleasantly. He continued to move leaves from the torso to find the clothes of the skeleton were torn and very dirty.

“What is it?” Alicia asked, closer to him, but probably not enough to see what was going on.

The skeleton had a… yellow scarf. Well worn, too. Moomin felt the dread overtake him as he found a green hat. 

Alicia took his arm and panted. She finally looked to the find. “Oh, no…”

Moomin couldn’t find the energy to cry. Instead, he looked around for the body’s possible rucksack, wanting to do… something. He didn’t know what. Maybe proof that it really was who he thought it was.

He found it. It was obviously scavenged through, but in one of the pockets was a letter. Many letters. A put them each back in carefully, not reading any of them, and picked up the bag. “Alicia?”

“Yes?” she whimpered.

He didn’t know what he wanted to stay so he scrunched up his face and took a pursuit home.

Once back to Alicia’s house, he found his hands were shaking horribly.

“I’ll telegraph Moominmamma,” she said.

“Okay,” he responded in a whisper.

A while passed but he couldn’t focus on time, not even on how fast his mind was going. It wouldn’t just shut up! Why?!

“Alicia, what’s wrong?” Mamma rushed into the hut. “Moomintroll?” She eyed the bag. “What’s…?”

Alicia whispered something to Mamma, something Moomin couldn’t make out. Mamma looked horrified.

“You found him?”

Moomin strung together words, not knowing if he was making sense. “What was left of him.”

Mamma gave him a tight hug. His fur was very fluffed up, probably from fear.

He reached into the bag, feeling the harmonica he shoved in there and found the pocket of letters.

He took the pile out and found that they were titled things like, “Recipes,” “avoid,” “quick work,” “numbers for com.,” and “Moomintroll.”

He, predictably, chose to read the one that said, “quick work.” That, realistically, wasn’t a predictable choice, but Moomin almost chose his own name. He did wonder what it meant. It was just a list of places and descriptions of various jobs, mostly labor. One said something Moomintroll wished that the writer never did, but he wouldn’t shame him for it if it were true.

He picked up the letter that was titled his name. He knew he had to get it over with. He couldn’t stop crying before he even opened the letter, the despair catching up to him. He shoved it toward Mamma who looked concerned.

“If you’re sure, Moomintroll…” She opened the piece of paper and read aloud:

_Hello, Moomin! Fancied that I could write you a letter. I don’t believe I’ll ever send this to you, though. Maybe it will be like a diary? I miss you, you know. Over the winter, it does get lonely, but not by nature, by the absence of you._

_A man gave me a card that said that if I ever wanted to have fun, I could join him. I don’t think he understands that I don’t stay in one place too long._

_Just figured out what the card means! I’m sort of sick to my stomach thinking about it, so I’ll dispose of it right away. I sort of hope you don’t figure it out!_

_A Fillyjonk punched his wife so I beat him up. Serving some time in jail, so I won’t be able to write immediately if something happens._

_I’m free! It’s almost spring so I’ll make my way back to you. Oh, how I miss you… maybe we can do something more fun when I get back? I have an idea. Oh, that sounds so embarrassing._

_I fear I have fallen ill and might be a little late this spring, but fear not! I will quickly recover and we can reunite once again! I think it might be some vegetables I ate from a Hemulen’s garden… maybe they had parasites..._

_I haven’t been able to make progress on my recovery yet. I feel as though if I end up dying, I don’t want you to think I’ve abandoned you. I’m almost to the forest of Witches. maybe I can make it there? Whatever ends up happening, I love you. I think I’ll sign off…_

_Forever yours: Snufkin._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This is my first finished work! And first one shot! I hope you enjoyed because I hated writing it.


End file.
